Rolling on the River

We went to spend some time with Thad this weekend. We took the kids down the river on a raft. They has so much fun. Lauren was unsure about this at first.













Breaking for lunch and watching some of the other people go by.










Brendan was testing out the freezing cold water before we all got in.








Aaron figured out a way to stay cool but not get in yet. One leg in- one leg out. Notice our trusty boat driver doing all the work in the back.











We managed to not turn the raft over. The kid's favorite part was when the water was shallow enough to walk beside the boat as we drifted downstream. It was so hot we all jumped in. They had a great time and loved doing something new.

More Pictures

Wanted to post more of the birthday boy. He had a good time but not sure that he is used to it being all about him.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

I can't believe my baby boy is seven!!! He asked to go out and eat at a place where they would sing to him. This is what he did when that happened.











The whole family at Olive Garden












He had a pool party and had so much fun. That's him in the royal blue shirt.












Lots of fun in the pool.This was a very easy party.










He chose a Super Mario ice cream cake. It was a hit and also very pretty.

Pictures for the Airplane People

We went to see Thad last week. This is him headed straight for us.









Ethan watching Daddy spray.












Landing on a nice runway...

Summer is Here

Oh my!!! It has been so hot here. Summer came in two days. It no longer possible to sit beside the pool to watch the kids. We are talking July weather here!!! Soooo not ready for that considering that we have had such mild weather so far.

We finished school yesterday with awards day and end of the year swimming parties. The kids basically stayed in the pool all day yesterday. Then we had a birthday supper for my Grandpa last nite! Wheew! Lots going on here.

We will be headed north to visit Daddy while he works. Maybe I will have some cool pictures to post when we get back.

There are some cool things happening at CNS! Lots of changes and that is going...well...like changes usually do..not without friction. So pray for all of us there. Pray that we will seek God's will for this mission and not anything of ourselves. God is moving around here. It is so visible lately and that is exciting!!

Signing out for now....

Surprises.....

We got a surprise this weekend. Thad was able to be home for Mother's Day. He came to the food pantry where Lauren and I were and surprised us! We were so excited to see him. Thad put down his belongings and gave us hugs. While he still had Lauren in his arms, I picked up his backpack and flight bag and put them in my car. We visited a few minutes then he helped fix a problem with our huge dumpster. Such a good thing because the trash couldn't be picked up and he fixed the problem quickly. Yay! A Blessing for sure. We grabbed a bite for lunch and it was on the way home that Thad realized he did not have his iph*ne. We retraced all of our steps and could not find it anywhere. He remembered that he last had it when he came in the food pantry. He had left it on the table but it was not there. I remembered the family that was in when he arrived and I gave them a call. They had picked it up and was honest enough to admit that they stll had it. We went on our way to retrieve it. As we drove up, I realized that I had never seen a house look like this. Things were falling down all around. Lots of chickens between the two structures where more than two families lived. About eight children gathered around us to see what these strangers where doing at their house. I forgot that I was still in the US. It reminded me of things seen on mission trips and I was only fifteen minutes from my house. God showed me lots of things that day. I can't believe that a family has enough food because their clothes are nice. I can't believe that they are not really hungry because their car is nicer than mine. We did get the phone back with only one or two calls to NYC :-) on it. It was turned off and in great condition. We exchanged grateful hugs to the lady that gave it back and were on our way. I am still learning from all of this...mostly how surprised I was that it was given back when it could have been sold to buy food or other necessities. I should not have been surprised how loving on someone changes everything.

What about Wendy??

Wendy:

- has made some new friends...so excited about that!
- learns something new everyday....or keeps realizing that I don't know it all!
- should brush up her organizational skills...
- is ready for summertime with no schedules..
- can't wait to find out what baby Ezell is...boy or girl
- keeps laughing at all the crazy antics of her kids...and he chaos..well, after the chaos.
- just finished Crazy Love and is picking up a new book today!

Now some of the happenings around here:











Aaron won third place overall in the first grade at field day yesterday.











So proud of that medal!








Aubrey (my niece) showing Lauren the ropes at school.










Ethan at field day yesterday. He placed third in the race that I did not watch.










Brendan running the 800m at his last track meet.